


Possessions Gained and Lost

by oxfordRoulette



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-23
Updated: 2012-12-23
Packaged: 2017-11-22 01:52:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/604518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oxfordRoulette/pseuds/oxfordRoulette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The customers who trade at Aradia's Pawn Shop always have the most interesting stories.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Garnet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [overthetiber](https://archiveofourown.org/users/overthetiber/gifts).



> This was written for overthetiber as part of the Sweep's Eve Gift Exchange. The prompt requested was: Aradia manages a supernatural pawn shop. I hope you enjoy, and have a Merry Sweep's Eve!

It's a little house on the dusty main street of an American small town. You will think it's a normal house --perhaps with an eccentric old woman living inside-- a private property you aren't welcome on. But when you look closely at the front yard, you might notice a small sign sticking out near the corner. It's engraved with a detailed ram and a border filled with branches, all pointing with subtle intention to the main label: “Aradia's Pawn Shop – Always Open.”

The building itself is on the end of a foreclosed strip of stores, abandoned when the seeds of Capitalism took root. It was made by the wealthy sons of German immigrants, who drew inspiration from their heritage and the Tiffany style which subtly bled itself across the United States. It is a massive, three floor endeavor with no basement. It's rich wood painted in bright purple and red, looking like a dollhouse on a Gothic Valentines day. There is a turret in the back of the house, it's steeping roof topped with an ancient weather vane with two moons shifting in the wind. The porch is under an overhang, the columns of which are graced with an elegant border Mucha would admire. Directly above the door --barred with a graceful iron fleur-de-lys-- is a fresco of a woman's head. Her long, black hair mummifies her body, wrapping around her shoulders and draping presumably to her feet. She judges all living who enter, her thumb placed between fragile lips clear as glass. 

When you enter the house, you are greeted by an unorganized mess of forgotten goods. A chess set sits in plain view, the pieces set up like the players just left. About twenty rings of keys are nailed to the wall. There's a stuffed Christmas bear labeled “Dayton's” from 1926. There's a tube filled with dirty socks. An unorganized pile of encyclopedias in fictional languages. A large music box with springs sticking out that will still play “Ave Maria.” A wicker chair from 1958 that looks like it was painted black in a hurry. A collection of letter seals, never used. A box from Amazon. Baby shoes. Six loofahs. A printer. Every room in all three stories, including the bathroom, is packed to the brim with what you will call junk. The layout of the these piles of sheer stuff cannot be described, for every time you visit it will always be dramatically different from what you've seen before. You will probably not find anything you like on your own. You will have to get help from the shopkeeper, since things seem to move according to her mischievous wishes.

You might think that the angry boy with the 3D glasses is the shopkeeper. He will almost always be sitting on his laptop on the East side of the third floor. Don't ask him for anything, he will not help you. 

You will have to ask Aradia for all the things you need. She sits in the back of the house, on a white chair from a boudoir, next to the never-opened cash register. She will be reading a book, her feet propped up on the old Five-and-Dine counter she “got from Irene a few years back." But don't be afraid to interrupt her. She will love to spin you a tale about any item in the store. She looks to be in her mid twenties, but acts as though she is a veteran of multiple wars. She might be wearing high wasted pants and a rockabilly leather jacket. She might be wearing an old gown worthy of Scarlet O'Hara. She might be wearing a maxi-dress and sunglasses. But she will always have dust on her shoulders and her hair will be braided with two heavy ram horns.

You might ask how she acquired this house. Or how she stays in business when there is ever only one customer in the shop. Or you might simply want to know how old she is. But when you ask these questions, she will laugh and fluff the bottom of her hair, and tell you a story of a customer she dealt with ten years ago. After all, she'll tell you, their stories are always much more interesting than mine.


	2. Ruby

Aradia sat behind her counter, surveying her kingdom. She thought she should call down Sollux to organize a bit. She's always been meaning to move that chess set, or at least put some seating next to it so she can play with an extra friendly customer. But her thoughts were interrupted by that old bell over the door singing of a trade to be made.

He was a blond kid, looked to be grazing his early twenties, a bit of stubble grew on the left half of his face. He had two expensive cameras and an old Polaroid camera hanging around his neck. He also had an iPhone, but Aradia wasn't sure whether to count that as a camera or not. She also noticed he didn't take his sunglasses off when he entered.

“Welcome to my pawn shop!” Aradia said. She stood up, tilting her head to the side and flashing a smile reserved for her customers. “Are you looking for anything in particular?”

“Yeah, man. I'm like, on the prowl,” he said. His voice was quiet, almost like he was afraid of riling himself up. “I'm one of those scummy TV show people. Pawn hunters or American scavenger or some shit. I'm the dregs of humanity: reality TV.” 

“Really?” said Aradia. She bounced on her heels. “I'm going to be on TV?”

“I'm kidding,” he said. Aradia frowned. “I'm actually a blogger. You know, people who sit around and make money in their underwear and eat Cheeto dust off their exposed stomach. I've been roughing it up around America and I was wondering if I could take a few pictures of this place? For my blog of course, I will be making piles of literal dough off of this. Bloggers are always rolling in pure cash.”

Aradia shrugged. “Alright, take all the pictures you want! But on one condition: you have to trade something before you go.”

“Trade? Is there some sort of barter system in place here? I'm not giving you a chicken in exchange for three sacks of potato.”

She just laughed. “Let me know if there's something you're looking for.”

She watched him crawl under a glass table with bins full of bouncy balls stacked on top. He took a few pictures on his back, then scooted out from underneath.

“What's your name?”

“Give me yours, Aradia, and I'll give you mine.”

She laughed. “Well, as you already can tell from the sign outside, yes, it is Aradia.”

“Dave.”

“Where are you from?”

“One of the great shames of America: Texas.” Dave snapped a picture of a pile of obscure 80's movie posters.

“Oh, you've come a long way then! Got any family at home?”

“Not really. My brother who raised me is long gone, pushing daisies just like the show Pushing Daisies. My sister is, uh, estranged? I guess that's the best way to describe it. She'd be proud of my word selection. We used to be close, but she just got fucking weird. Into cult stuff and summoning pigeon satan and what-not. Still follows my blog though.” He lowered his camera. “I had a best buddy who was like family. We were chums, man. He gave me these sunglasses.” He pointed at his lenses. “Keeps me looking cool in front of the sexy-ass ladies like you. But he's not at home, anymore. His sister isn't either.”

Dave dropped the camera, letting it swing under his neck, and looked around the shop in a daze. “Look, I don't know why I said all that shit. I usually don't say that sort of stuff to random strangers in shops. Especially not ones with giant ram horns, I mean, that's for sure a first.”

“Sometimes there's just something about being in a shop full of antiques,” said Aradia. “It brings out the past.”

Dave wandered around the next few rooms, taking pictures of whatever he found interesting. He asked if he could go upstairs, and Aradia told him the rest of the floors were filled with stuff.

She kept reading her book, interrupted by a brief shout from Sollux telling Dave not to disturb him.

“Stop. Fucking, taking pictures. I'm not some museum piece you snatchstain.” Solluxs muffled voice carried through the floors. Aradia would have to have a talk with him about his language to customers.

Dave came back down to the counter. “So, uh, I didn't really find anything I want to trade. I mean, I found like, a fucking robot made out of pool noodles which I would gladly pay ten thousand dollars for, but nothing I want to actually trade with the stuff I have on me.”

“Well, sometimes it's hard to find what you're looking for.” said Aradia. “What do you really, really want, Dave?”

“A robot made out of pool noodles. But not just any pool noodles, like actual noodles. Like lingooni and macaroon and bow hat noodles.”

“It can be anything! Even what you think might be an abstract concept. I'll help you find it.”

“Alright,” said Dave. His eternally horizontal mouth tilted a bit in thought. “Okay, uh, I'm just kind of going off the assumption this is a magical wish-granting shop that is stable throughout parallel universes, and all kinds of weird ass demons and shit come through looking for stuff. If that sounds like a plot for an anime then, yes, yes it is a plot for an anime. But sometimes life is an anime, Aradia. Life is an anime.”

“You have a big imagination!” said Aradia. “But that's not quite how it works. You've got kind of the right gist of things though.”

“So, I'm looking for... My bro. Not my best bro, I know where he is.” Dave coughed. “But I guess I just want to... See him again? You wouldn’t happen to have time traveling DJ disks or some wacked up thing like that, would you?”

Aradia did actually have time traveling DJ disks, but that came at a high price for it to be a fair trade. She could tell Dave didn't have something to give to her in exchange. “I'm sorry, Dave. I don't have anything suited to those needs exactly. How about something else? Something to remember your brother by?”

Dave shrugged. He didn't say anything in reply.

“I'll be right back.”

Aradia figured that Dave carried with him an aspect of his brother. She went through a list of Dave's possessions she knew of. Cameras? Doubtful. Converse shoes? Maybe. Sunglasses?

She stopped on sunglasses. She ran to the second floor, and found a postcard rack which had been converted to store weird headgear. She ran her fingers over every frame, accessory and weird frilly clip on the rack. Her hands halted over a particular pair of cool anime shades. Her whimsy told her this was the right bargain for Dave. She brought them down to him.

“Holy fuck.” said Dave. He took them, rotating them around between his fingers. They were triangular black shades, coming out in pointed angles like the wings of ravens. They were a little scratched on the edges, like the previous owner had gotten in a few scuffles. “No way. What do I owe you?”

Aradia pointed at his shades. “Oh no,” he said. “I'm sorry but these mean too much to me, I can't give these babies up. Not even for the same brand of shades my brother had.”

“No, I don't want your sunglasses. Will you trade me what's under them?”

“I am also not going to rip out my eyes and present them to you on a platter.”

Aradia giggled. “No, silly. That'll do just fine.” She pointed at the Polaroid camera Dave carried.

Dave thought for a long while. “You know what?” he said. “That's a fair trade.”

\-----

Aradia placed the developed picture in a Polaroid photo album she had. It was an excellent picture, framed by someone who had skill in taking self portraiture. Bright red eyes stared directly at the camera, framed by wisps of blond hair. She closed the album, and put it back on a shelf. She wondered what sort of person would need that picture, but she wouldn’t pressure anyone into trading for it. She let things like this ebb and flow; it's the first thing you learn in a shop like this.


	3. Peridot

Aradia was sitting in a window seat in the tower, letting the light from the sun enable her reading. She looked up from her book and watched the beams highlight little flecks of dust. They reminded her of summer fireflies. She was interrupted from her daydreams by the sound of that old bell ringing downstairs.

She slid down the bannister, then bustled through a few stuffed rooms to find her trader. The customer was a strong and muscular girl, with black hair growing down to her knees. She wore a long skirt and a t-shirt, and she had a backpack instead of a purse.

“Welcome to my pawn shop!” Aradia said. “Are you looking for anything in particular?”

“You wouldn’t happen to have any pets would you?” the girl had her gaze fixed on the ground, one foot rubbed the other. She looked guilty for simply asking a question.

“I might.” Aradia rubbed her head. She thought she had a parrot upstairs if Sollux remembered to feed it, and she definitely had a few Beta fish in a pretty glass bowl. “What kind of pet do you want?”

“Something that doesn't mind long car trips.”

Well, that eliminated those two options. Aradia went over the map of her house in her head, but she was sure she didn't have any other animals. “I'm sorry, um-”

“Jade! My name is Jade.”

“I'm sorry Jade! We don't have any pets that really suit long car trips. Maybe I can give you something else that fits what you're looking for?”

Jade scratched the back of her head. “I guess, I've been driving around for so long that it's gotten kind of lonely. My car's kind of small and I just want something there for me.” Her eyes started to sparkle then, and Aradia wondered what things made her so sad. Aradia loves when people trade those things, the things with connections. So she decided to pry.

“Are you taking a roadtrip?”

Jade bit her knuckle. Aradia noticed that there were little pale lines around her fingers, places where the sun couldn’t reach. She had a green rubber band on her pinky, so Aradia thought that her fingers must have been full of those little bands. Jade looked around for a seat, so Aradia grabbed two swivel chairs from behind her and pulled them forward. They sat down, Aradia leaning on her knees and ready to listen.

“I miss the sense of adventure I used to have with my... grandfather,” Jade sighed. “He-He died in an accident recently. I'm kind of just, finding myself, I guess? I turned into this bawling mess and I didn't think I was like that! I thought I was stronger than that. So I'm out finding my strength. But it's been so lonely and I need a friend...”

“Why didn't you bring a friend with you?”

Jade closed her eyes, her teeth digging into her lower lip. “My.. dog died too, in the accident. I would have brought him along, but, poor Bec.” She shook her head, her glasses almost falling off. She tried not to look at Aradia when her nose started running. She crumpled in on herself, started to shake with sobs, and buried her head in her arms. “Oh my gosh, I am so so sorry, I don't even know why I'm telling you this stuff. I'm usually just happy, bubbly Jade and I don't tell anyone about this stuff. It's just something about this place!” Her voice was interrupted by a painful shake, and she cried out louder than she wanted to. “We were just so close! All of us...” Jade picked at the rubber band on her pinky.

Aradia knew Jade was leaving out information from her story. But it was hard to resist spilling feelings in this store, and if Jade was keeping something hidden, then she was struggling to keep it that way. Aradia sometimes saw a need to pry these hidden details out of customers, but for Jade, she had all she needed. She rubbed Jade's back, whispering soothing nothings and keeping a circular rhythm. Jade's fit subsided, and she eventually sat up, rubbing her eyes and getting snot on her arm.

“I'm sorry, Ms.... Aradia? Yeah. Um, I promise I'm not like this, spilling my guts to random people in a store. I think I should go.”

Jade started to stand up, but Aradia grabbed her wrist. “Wait a second! I think I have something you need, but you have to think of something of equal value to exchange. Do you have things to trade?”

“I have... money?” Jade sniffled. “I don't get it.”

“No, this shop doesn't work that way! Think of trading a chicken for three sacks of potato. A system like that.”

Jade narrowed her eyes, her shoulders moving slightly. “Okay...”

Aradia grinned, then ran upstairs, to the right, and three aisles past the inflatable sn0wman. She dug under a pile of pirated VHS tapes, and found exactly what Jade needed. Aradia always found the dead to be of great comfort to the living.

“Here you go,” she said. She handed Jade a taxidermied white husky. It was sitting on nothing, its tail curved upwards, its mouth open and smiling, and its black marble eyes shining with stars. 

Jade's pupils increased to the size of dinner plates. With shaking arms, she clutched it to her chest, and nuzzled her face in its fur. “This looks just like Bec,” she whispered. She raised her head, a grin spreading sunshine across her face. “Did you know we had a tradition of stuffing all our dead family members? I couldn’t do that with all of them, since it was a fire. This can be like... them accompanying me. It's so well made.” She stuck her head back into the fur. “It even smells like him. My good dog. This means... So, so much to me, Ms. Aradia,” Jade set the dog on the ground and patted his head. “Can I trade you something cool? I can give you my laptop. I have six more of them so you don't need to worry about taking anything necessary to my well-being.”

“Actually,” said Aradia. “I was thinking about that little green band on your finger. What's it for?”

“I...” Jade stared at her finger. “It's a reminder.” Her eyes focused in on that band. She didn't blink, trying to memorize it. “But you know what?” She took it off. “I think I'll be okay now.”

She dropped it into Aradia's waiting hand. She straightened up like she had a great weight removed. Aradia held it between her palms like a prayer. “Thank you Jade. I hope you come visit again.”

Jade looked as if she wanted to stay longer and talk, but she took the hint and curtseyed. She took her dog, waved by the door, and said her goodbyes. When she left, Aradia examined the rubber band. Jade never explained what it really meant, but Aradia had a feeling she would find out.


	4. Amethyst

Aradia was back at her counter, reading her book. The bell chimed, and before Aradia could put her book down, the customer was right in front of her.

“Hello, my name is Rose Lalonde, and my brother came here a few weeks ago. He updated his blog with his adventures at this rather quaint house.” Rose put both her hands down on the counter. “Perhaps you remember him, in fact, I know you do. Mumbly child, low self-confidence, possibly flirted with you...”

Aradia raised an eyebrow, but nodded in agreement. “Of course. What can I do for y-”

“I'm looking for a book. I've been looking for it for a long, long time, and I am absolutely positive this shop has it.”

Rose was smiling, her eyes almost popping out her head. Aradia had never met a customer who sought this place out for a specific object, and she was curious. “What kind of book?”

“The Grimoire for Summoning the Zoologically Dubious.”

Aradia had that book. She could never move it, in fact. It was on the wicker basket next to the toilet. Sollux would try to read it sometimes but always put it down after the first two pages and ended up banging his head against the South wall in the tower. Aradia would love to be rid of that book, it brought quite a bit of darkness into her shop. But she knew the trade would require a hefty price for it to be fair.

“If you're worried if I can pay for it, I have something.” Rose said. She opened her purse, pulling out a tube of lipstick. She twirled it in her hands for a while, watching the light play against the silver case. “It's... the only thing that really means anything to me anymore. I don't use it. It belonged to... an ex. And they aren't my colors.” Her voice was quieter. She was tiptoeing on fragile feelings.

Rose placed it on the counter. Aradia took it and opened it. It was two tones, green on the left, and the darkest black on the right. Rose was looking away, pushing her lips together so hard they turned white. Aradia put the lipstick behind her counter.

“Alright, I have the book. Hold on one second.”

Aradia made her way to the bathroom, then held the book up to the light. In the wrong hands, this would be a terrible boon. But something said to her that she should give it away, and Aradia always listened to her feelings. Rose was filled with a terrible joy when she received her end of the bargain. She tried to appear calm as she walked out of the shop, but Aradia could see the bounce in her step.

\-----

“Aradia, get your ass up here!”

Aradia set down her book and almost flew to where Sollux was. He had a few websites open, all local news, which were running sensationalist stories of a gray woman commanding an army of terrible beasts.

“And I know your bleeding, liberal heart is going to ask if she killed anyone, and I want you to know that these tentacle beasts are straight out of a bad hentai. Which means they're unfathomable. So while it seems no one has gotten a close enough look at the creatures, people's heads could literally explode because of this.” Sollux shut his laptop. “Do you want to go, or should I?”

“Lets both go! We haven't had an outing in eons.” Aradia said.

“But what about the shop?”

“Oh, it can take care of itself, it's a big girl.”

Sollux shrugged, then cleared a pile of stuff he was leaning on, exposing a floor-to-ceiling window. It used to be a sliding door when they thought building a porch was a good idea. He opened it, then gestured for Aradia to climb on his back. She giggled and they assumed piggyback formation. He began to pulse with energy, red and blue auras glowing around him. He jumped out the window, taking flight into the clouds, leaving a trail of colors behind them. The window shut when they were out of view.

\-----

When they returned, there were fireflies in the back of the house. Aradia pointed at the flickering lights and they descended. 

“I told you, you should shout, “OPTIC BLASTH' whenever you do that. It makes it cooler.” Aradia caught a firefly in her cupped hands.

“I looked like a badass out there and that would have ruined it.”

“... It's too bad we had to kill her,” said Aradia. She peeked inside her hands and smiled. “But sometimes the dead are better off than the living. Especially her. She said she had nothing left. And I trust that statement.”

“You shouldn’t have given her that Grimoire. It would have been better reading for us while taking massive shits. It would have been better here instead of out there. She could have killed random people.”

“I'm a big believer in fate, Sollux,” Aradia said, releasing the firefly. “You should know this by now.”

“So fate killed her then?” Sollux put a hand to his ear. “Oh, wait, what did I just hear? Was that the crackling sound of your heart freezing up?”

“I think that things happen as they should,” she said. “That's all. She was meant to get that book and she was meant to die by it. And I think that her story is a testament to what my shop really is.”

Sollux rubbed his temples and took a deep breath. “I'm going to go to bed early, we can talk philosophical bullshit in the morning.”

“Goodnight!”

Sollux drifted to the third floor. The sliding glass door opened for him, and he disappeared. Aradia giggled, then skipped to the front of her house.

There was a boy sitting on the front doorstep.


	5. Sapphire

“Oh, hello! Welcome to my pawn shop!” said Aradia. “Are you looking for anything in particular?”

“Well, I kind of want to get in?” said the boy. “It says 'always open.'”

“Oh, right! Silly me.” said Aradia. “That's odd, my shop should always let you in... You must be special!”

The boy laughed. He had messy black hair and glasses that were askew. He was wearing a old, holey t-shirt and striped pajama pants. He didn't have any shoes on. He looked like he had just gotten out of bed and walked to the shop.

Aradia opened the door for him, leading him inside. It was unlocked, as she suspected. He was amazed at all the stuff inside, and immediately went for the movie posters in the back-left corner. 

“So what can I help you with?”

The boy pulled out a poster from an obscure direct-to-video movie from the 80's. “Um... I'm not sure.”

“Well, why did you decide to come here at this odd hour?”

The boy set the poster down, then focused his attention on a yellow gameboy color. “That's a good question.”

“How long were you waiting outside?”

“I think since my sister came. But I didn't climb up the steps until recently.”

Aradia didn't remember a customer besides Rose on that day. “What's your sister's name?”

“Um... I don't remember that either.”

Aradia smiled and made an almost imperceptible 'ah-ha' noise. She hadn't had a customer like this for the longest time. She loved customers like this, since they always had the most interesting things to trade. And she always gave away the most interesting things.

“Do you remember your name?”

“No.”

“Would you like to?”

“I guess...”

He continued trying to play with the gameboy, although it was out of batteries. Aradia didn't think that his own self was too important to him. “Was your sister's name Jade?”

He set down the gameboy. He whipped his head towards Aradia. “I think so. Do you know something about her?”

“She came by a while ago. She traded this,” Aradia held up the green band. “For a stuffed dog.”

“She would do that.” the boy said. “Can I have that green thing?”

“This is a pawn shop!” Aradia said. “You will have to trade me for it!”

The boy looked at himself. He went for his pockets, but he didn't have any in his pajamas. “I don't have anything to trade...”

“Sure you do! It can be anything.”

“Alright...” The boy turned his head towards the ceiling, closing his eyes. He took a few deep breaths, then looked back at Aradia, eyes flashing with determination. “Okay, I know what I'll trade. I'll trade me.”

“Are you sure?” asked Aradia. “You might want to ask the last person who traded themselves how they feel about it. He's kind of a grumpy-butt. You'll be stuck around here for as long as I need you.”

“Well, I don't think I have anywhere else to go, so I'm sure. Can I trade you for that rubber band? I really want it.”

Aradia nodded, then asked him to hold out his hand. He did so, fingers spread wide, and she slipped the green band onto his pinky finger. 

“Oh,” said the boy. He blinked a few times. “My name is John. This is my memory... Jade must have taken it with her after our house burned down.” He folded his hands together, looking down as if in prayer.

“Your house burned down?”

“Yes, we were all asleep,” John said. “Jade was out at the time...” John gasped, then shook Aradia's shoulders. “Is she doing okay?”

Aradia laughed. “Yes! I think she's doing just fine out there.”

“Good, because we're... or we were, the best damn siblings out there! I wouldn’t want her fretting over me any more than she already did.” John punched the air. “So, now that I'm your servant, what would you have me do, great Master?”

He mock bowed. Aradia giggled. “Well, the first thing to do is meet Sollux! He's my other helper. Then I guess you can start dusting if you want.”

“Sweet deal!”

“He's upstairs. I'm sure he would like you jumping on him during his rest.”

“Alright!” said John. He wrung his hands together and laughed, then tiptoed to the stairs. Aradia smiled, fluffing the bottom of her hair, and listened for the surprised shouts of Sollux.

Before heading upstairs for the night, Aradia made one last sweep over her kingdom, making sure everything was in it's place. She put the gameboy back on a shelf, she rolled up the discarded movie poster. She turned off the light, and filled her lungs with the dusty air. 

She always ended her day remembering the possessions she gained and lost. She couldn’t wait for tomorrow. After all, the precious treasures of all who visit are just waiting to be discovered.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Burning All the Tough Times (Possessions Gained and Lost Remix)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/705106) by [anthrop](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anthrop/pseuds/anthrop)




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